By football standards, the fight was barely a blip. Linebacker Parys Haralson scuffled with an unidentified offensive player on the practice field Friday before the two were separated by teammates.

But the brief dustup was enough to draw the ire of Mike Singletary, who believes that such animosity should be reserved for the opposition. So the 49ers coach immediately halted practice and punished the entire squad by making players run sideline-to-sideline sprints.

With the message delivered, Singletary resumed practice.

"We have to learn how to compete without getting all emotional about it," Singletary said later. "It's the first fight we've had and hopefully the last. We just have too much work to do to spend time doing that."

Some NFL coaches welcome the occasional fisticuffs. Former 49ers coach Mike Nolan could barely contain his smile whenever his players mixed it up on the practice field because he thought it showed a passion for the game. Nolan was fond of saying that if something is important to you, it's worth fighting for.

Singletary is a Nolan fan, but on this point they disagree.

"I look at our team like a family," Singletary said. "Maybe some guys have the philosophy, 'Well that's what football's all about.' No, that's not what football is all about to me.

"I learned that football is where you go out and play together. You're going to fight out here and in the same breath you're going to say we're family? You're going to talk to each other like crap? No, we're in this together. If you can't see it that way, then we've got to find somebody else.

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"It's foolishness to me. I'm a firm believer that what you do out here on the field, that's what you're going to do in the game. It's all repetition. That's not happening."

The 49ers resume organized team activities Monday through Wednesday; technically. Mandatory minicamp runs Thursday through Saturday. Singletary said he expects all of the players to be at the minicamp. "So far, so good," he said.

For the second consecutive day, defensive backs were active in knocking passes away, including rookie safety Taylor Mays, who leaped high to bat away David Carr's pass intended for Kyle Williams in the end zone.

Receiver Brandon Jones underwent treatment for a sprained ankle and did not practice.

Dashon Goldson passed the time during special-teams drills with an act that would make him the first-round pick for Barnum & Bailey. The free safety camped out behind the goal posts and caught the ball from all kinds of impossible angles. He caught one lying flat on his back. He caught another by jumping up out of a push-up position at the last second to make a diving grab.

The Stanford men's volleyball team, fresh off its first national championship since 1997, visited the sidelines as guests of the 49ers. Singletary's daughters, Jill and Becky, are volleyball players, and the coach has become a fan of the game. "Volleyball is my favorite sport. I love it," Singletary said.

The Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) High football team also visited practice.

Fans can meet 49ers linebacker Takeo Spikes at 1 p.m. today during a book signing at Costco on 450 10th St. in San Francisco. Spikes and Ty Knott, the 49ers' director of player development, co-authored a book "NFL Dads Dedicated to Daughters."